The cruelest lies are often told in silence. ~Adlai Stevenson
A federal judge on Friday rejected a plea agreement from a woman who exposed hundred of patients in her care to hepatitis C. Judge Robert E. Blackburn said that Kristen D. Parker’s plea agreement did not take into account the feelings of her victims, many of whom gave troubling written statements. It is unusual for a judge to reject a defendant’s plea agreement.
Parker admitted to stealing pain medication syringes and replacing them with saline-filled needles she had used to inject herself with heroin. Seventeen patients at the Rose Medical Center in Denver have tested positive to hepatitis C. The genetic sequencing of the strain matches Parker’s blood, according to a report from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Hepatitis C affects liver function and can be a long-term health problem for those affected.
Judge Blackburn warned Parker at the hearing that if she continued with her guilty plea, her sentence could be tougher.
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